In my area, Southeastern Washington State, the state has cut back the funding for the independent older blind program which I find disturbing. I have only allowed to work with clients for three visits which is not enough to teach them the new technologies available to them.
With all the updates and new technology, when do you end the lessons? We have seniors who don't want the instructors to stop teaching them - saying they need to learn the new technology.
The topic for this live discussion is: OIB Services for Individuals with Dementia. Dementia describes a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities.
The topic for this live discussion is: Working with Consumers to Create SMART Goals. A SMART goal is defined as one that is specific, measurable, action-oriented, relevant, and time-bound. If you use SMART goals with your consumers, we invite you to share your success stories or tips.
In Minnesota, we were fortunate to have a small pot of money to do some social media advertising for our OIB services. The analytics of the response were quite good. The way it worked was; if someone searched on low vision or macular degeneration, the next time they opened their Facebook or Twitter page, they would get a banner ad promoting our OIB program.
South Dakota has had a lease/loan program in place for a number of years which has made CCTVs (digital video magnification) available to consumers of the OIB program. Eventually, the program participants IL record is closed with the CCTV remaining with the individual.
Some still believe that the definition of “assistive technology and assistive technology services” is too broad to be meaningful. There is a significant cost and training differential for example, in giving a client a bump dot for a microwave or training the client to use a computer with adaptive software. How can this be addressed?
